Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston (5) passes the ball during the first quarter of a Sept. 23 game against Boston College. He is currently facing allegations of sexual battery stemming from a report in Tallahassee last December. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - With sexual battery allegations against Florida State's Heisman Trophy frontrunner Jameis Winston, those who watched him first-hand as a star quarterback at Hueytown High School are both showing support for their favorite son and voicing concerns about the charges.

No charges have been filed against Winston but the investigation, which is based around an assault reported around a year ago in an off-campus apartment, remains open. FSU records show the first report was made to campus police on December 7, 2012, and then handed over to Tallahassee police.

An assistant state attorney announced today that prosecutors in Tallahassee did not receive information about the allegations until Tuesday.

People in Winston's hometown of Hueytown responded to the allegations by first questioning the report and timing of the incident.

Hueytown's Rayme Bryson said that he was most concerned about how and when the report was released. "They are bringing this out a year later while he's doing great, as a distraction," Bryson said. "If it allegedly happened December 7, 2012, then bring it out December 8. Not a year later."

Donna Hendrix also questioned the description given by the alleged victim of the battery. "I've heard 5'10" and 240, with long dark hair. That doesn't describe Jameis at all," she said. "I've stood face to face with him and he is a very tall kid, make no mistake. I also read that he was not interviewed because he was nowhere near where this supposedly happened."

"I just hate it," she went on to say. "From the times I've been around him, he's a good kid, very articulate and a bit of a joker. I just hate it for him."

Hendrix flatly stated that she "does not believe it," and neither does Staci Earl.

"Jameis is smarter than that," Earl said. "I don't believe it at all."

Many Hueytown residents also seem to believe that Winston is under the accusation because he is doing well.

Tracy Bowers said that he believes Winston's success set him up for the charge.

"If he were a third string nobody, this would never be brought up," Bowers said. "It makes me wonder how much they paid this girl."

"We wouldn't have even heard about it if they weren't doing so well," added Bryson.

Not everyone, though, is willing to give him a "pass" on the charges. Some believe that his notoriety could be catching up with him.

Troy University sophomore Stephanie Clinton went to school with Winston at Hueytown and said that she often saw him get special treatment. "Throughout high school he was never told 'no,' and when he was he ignored it," Clinton said.

Clinton said she thinks people may believe the best because Winston's a star player.

"We need to realize what he is. A kid who is good at football and has a big ego," she said.

Amy Hicks said that the most important thing to do is keep an open mind to both possibilities.

"I don't know if it's fake or not, and who really knows other than the two who have to deal with it," Hicks said. "All I can say is I really hope he would have enough common sense and know better than the allegations that have been thrown at him."

As developments continue to emerge in the story, followers and fans from both Hueytown and across the college football landscape will certainly have plenty on which to speculate.